Living Unfiltered for God

Recently, I’ve been watching a series of sermons from Pastor Miles McPherson ( Rock Church in San Diego ) about prophecy. One definition that keeps getting repeated is that prophecy is a word , that becomes a thing , that in turn gets transformed into God’s Glory. Maybe it’s because my wife and I have been talking about this a lot lately, but when I felt the Lord give me a word this morning – out of nowhere, by the way, (and isn’t that often the case?) – I knew I was supposed to share it in this manner. I’ve written in this space often ( here , here and here , for a few ) about the family camp we attend every summer. There have also been posts about the scripture stones that the youth receive on the last day of camp. This is always one of my personal highlights of our camp – to see which scriptures resonate with the kids. As part of this tradition, I ask one of them to choose a stone for me. I can’t begin to tell you (although I attempted to in a previous post ) how much these s...

Last week, Barbara and I spent our 25th anniversary celebrating with a little much needed R&R and “just us” time in Charleston, SC. There were several times in the weeks leading up to our trip, however, where it seemed we might not make the trip. Looking back, I’m sure it was the enemy trying to keep us from some very important divine appointments. While not everything went the way we planned, we made some new friends and came home with some wonderful “God stories”. This is just one of them… One of our main objectives for our stay was to visit the Charleston City Market. When we had been to Charleston years ago, we only had a little bit of time there and so we were looking forward to taking our time while we perused all the booths and wares. We were specifically looking for gifts for several grandchildren’s birthdays, while also looking for a special anniversary gift to, and for, each other. About an hour into our shopping, I noticed Barbara striking up a conversation with th...

My wife and I recently completed a “40 Day Prayer Challenge” that we were participating in with some good friends of ours. There were numerous things that happened over that time – many that could be considered miracles – to and through, each and every one of us. There are probably a dozen stories that could be written about. Right now, though, I’d like to spend a couple of minutes sharing about a concept that was mentioned late in the study ( Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson), that we were using as a guide for the challenge. Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to lo...

I spent last week at one of my favorite places on the planet. It isn’t really the place itself that makes it so special (although it is beautiful), rather the people that I see there. And the God that I get to spend so much time with while I’m there. We were attending our annual CFO (Camp Farthest Out) family camp at Lake Yale, Florida. For my wife and I, this was our fourteenth consecutive year. Some folks have been going for more than 30 years, and about a quarter of the people attending this year were there for their first time. It’s always an incredible week of learning, worshiping, fellowshipping and soaking. Funny, we say we go there to rest but “rest” is not really what happens. In the Spirit, yes, but in the natural we are typically pretty busy!  Any of you who have read my words in this space before, know that I speak – and write – about this camp a lot. It’s at this camp where God first put it on my heart to begin writing and start this blog. You will be seeing me ...

Lately, I've started reading parts of the Bible with a little more intentionality.  It's so easy to see a verse somewhere and just take it at face value. Usually it's fine, but I've found that, as with so many other things, context is king. And what's interesting is that while, sometimes, reading what takes place before and after  the verse of interest actually changes the interpretation, more often, reading the context makes the point even stronger. And frequently, there is an entire other lesson (or two... or more!) living in and among the surrounding verses! For me, this is part of the reason reading scripture is so fascinating. This happened recently while looking at John 14:6 (NIV), " I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".  This is a very popular verse that many people can at least say that they have heard before, even if not able to quote it. As I read around it, though, it became like the proverb...

I've been reminded this weekend of one of the very first times I remember being actively aware that I was being obedient to one of God's promptings. And actually, I don't even feel like I can "take credit" for doing so, because I truly believe that I had no say in the matter. It was a situation where God literally "took the wheel", as they say. Let me explain... Many, many years ago, after a few years of floundering in college, I knew it was time for me to get my act together. I had taken a year off of school - my mother had been diagnosed with cancer an the outlook was not good. I decided to go back home to spend some time with her as well as figure out how I was going to get my schooling back on track. After she passed away, it was time. No more messing around. I needed to finish my degree and get on with my life. It was a definite 1 Corinthians 13:11 moment, although I didn't necessarily think of it as such back then. When I was a child, ...

We just returned from our annual trip to Florida Family CFO, a Christian family camp that my wife and I have been attending for the past 12 years. I say my wife and I, but there are lots of other family and extended family that are always there, as well. And, as the camp name implies, even a first-timer who has come by themselves becomes family very quickly. It is one of the highlights of my year to go to this place. It was there at camp four years ago when God gave me the idea to write this blog and to generally live, “Unfiltered for God.” Every year there are many stories and situations that occur that we end up talking about throughout the year. When we came back a year ago, I wrote about having Communion at 7:30 every morning on the dock with the Youth of the camp. I was blessed this year to be able to do that again, and it is a story that originated on that very same dock that I am going to share here, now. Unlike last year, I knew that I was going to be spending this ti...

Over the last few weeks, our church has been doing a sermon series called "Wonder". It has been especially impactful to me, during this season of Advent, to "re-remember", if you will, all of those things that bring me wonder. Those things that just make me stop and say, "Wow, would you look at that?" Sometimes it's something I see, other times it's a situation, still others it's a memory that is brought to mind. I wanted to use this space today to record just a few of these wonder-filled moments for me over the last few weeks. I would love it if you would share some of yours in the comments, as well. Where have I found wonder lately?... ... I've found it in nature. The picture below was taken of the sunset on my way home from work the other day. It still doesn't quite capture the vividness of the colors. I saw and "wondered" at how God just shows off sometimes with His beauty in nature. When you look closely, it's alm...

One of the things that makes Christmas such a special time of year, at least for me anyway, is that it is a very nostalgic and sentimental time. For many people, Christmas was such a big deal when they were a child that for the rest of their lives, they remember certain things from childhood Christmases. One of the reasons it's easier to remember is because of Christmas traditions. Most families have certain things that they do every year as part of their celebration. Because it's done every year, it makes it easier to recall when you get older and it makes you sentimental - remembering "the good old days". I have fond memories of several things that our family did at Christmas when I was a child. On Christmas Eve, my dad would always read the "Christmas story" to us from the Bible. After all of the other Christmas Eve festivities were over, right before we would go to bed, he would read Luke 2:1-20 . When I was really little, it seemed to take forever,...

I don't know about you, but I suspect we are alike in that we don't like those moments when, for lack of a better phrase, God pulls us up short. Let me explain with an example... Yesterday I was taking care of an errand or two at lunchtime and was navigating through a parking lot. As I approached an intersection, another car came up from the other aisle on my left. I think I was there first but, feeling "charitable", I waved the lady through and she proceeded in front of me on the way to the main road. The first thought and emotion I experienced was peace and calm; something akin to, "I love doing nice things for people!". Unfortunately, it was followed immediately by, "Now, don't make me regret it!". Wow, where did that come from?! With that, God convicted me... Hard! What I heard next was, " Gee, aren't you glad my son Jesus doesn't have that attitude about you? Aren't you glad He isn't watching you and hoping th...

On this Easter morning, as we rejoice in celebration of our risen Savior, let's be grateful for the obedience that Jesus displayed to make this day a reality. It really was the ultimate act of obedience to God. Three times Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, three times asking God if there was another way, and hearing from our Father that there was not, three times said, "may Your will be done." ( Matthew 26:36-42 )  I've often wondered of the significance of the number three here. The number three typically represents divine completeness. It is used often in scripture. For example, Peter denied Christ three times (after the rooster crowed three times), and Jesus later reinstated Peter by asking him three times if he loved him. For me, an even closer parallel for the garden prayer is found in John's account of what took place right before Jesus was arrested. Jesus prayed three times - once for himself, once for his disciples, and a final time for all...

“Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55)   I'd like to share a little story. A little story that actually took place a week ago. My Dad had just passed away and my wife and I were taking a walk around the grounds of the beautiful country motel at which we were staying. It was the night before his memorial service. You can imagine the emotions - the sadness of losing a loved one; the poignancy of being back in the small town where I grew up; that realization that we are all mortal. We were enjoying the smell of the fresh air, the sound of the water gently running through the winding creek and looking at some flowers that we don't usually see...  "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:56-57) Then my wife saw it. There, seemingly "hiding" underneath a flower that was hanging down, was the most amazing moth...